Penguins 2, Blue Jackets 1: Evgeni Malkin scored in his return from a lower-body injury, Sidney Crosby added his 16th goal, and Pittsburgh won its sixth straight home game. Malkin missed two games last week after being injured during a morning skate. Crosby pushed his point total to an NHL-best 43 when a centering pass from Pascal Dupuis deflected off Crosby’s leg and into the net 8:52 into the third. “It looked like that was the only way I was going to score tonight the way it was going,” Crosby said. “I had some really pretty chances that didn’t go in. … That second one ended up being important for us.”

The Penguins placed defenseman Brooks Orpik on injured reserve with a concussion. Orpik was knocked unconscious by Boston’s Shawn Thornton in the first period of a 3-2 Bruins win Saturday. Coach Dan Bylsma said Orpik is “doing quite well” but offered no timetable on a possible return.

The NHL has suspended Pittsburgh forward James Neal five games for kneeing Boston forward Brad Marchand in the head during Saturday’s game.

Canucks 2, Hurricanes 0: Vancouver’s Eddie Lack made 31 saves in his first NHL shutout. With No. 1 goalie Roberto Luongo getting the night off, the rookie earned his fourth win of the season in his first appearance at Rogers Arena.

Ducks 5, Islanders 2: Corey Perry scored two goals and captain Ryan Getzlaf extended his points streak to 12 games as Anaheim handed New York its 10th consecutive loss.

Senators 5, Flyers 4: Jason Spezza scored the winning goal in the shootout to lift Ottawa over Philadelphia. The Senators snapped a five-game skid at home and earned their first shootout win of the season after dropping their first four in the tiebreaker.

Salary cap: The NHL salary cap is expected to rise to about $71 million next season, an increase of more than 10 percent. Commissioner Gary Bettman made the announcement at the league’s board of governors meeting in Pebble Beach.

Compounding the 49ers’ 0-3 start is that their past two defeats have come against NFC West rivals. Up next is another division opponent Sunday, when the 49ers visit the Arizona Cardinals. Here are some answers to pressing questions: Did Hoyers second half performance save him from a benching this season? — Far Side of Sports (@FarSideOfSports) September 25, 2017 At...